MotoGP Jerez: Lorenzo Jumps in The Lake

Jorge Lorenzo, who rode a superb MotoGP race for the win in Spain, displayed some grandeur to the full house in Jerez, which provided a fitting amphitheatre for his first MotoGP win on home soil.

After a bad start, the tenacious Lorenzo did not give-up while after the pursuit of a sixth premier-class win. He rapidly gained on his fellow Spaniard, Dani Pederosa, to bring himself within striking distance on his final lap.

His first attempt to pass resulted in a dramatic moment as they both momentarily looked to be running off track and in the end he had to leave it to the last lap to make the definitive move, passing Pedrosa on the brakes at the end of the back straight and crossing the line 0.543 seconds ahead.

Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha M1 Position: 1st Time: 45’17.538) says: "Once I passed Valentino (Rossi) I knew that I couldn’t take it easy, I had to try everything to win and it was all I could think about. I had a great fight with Dani and in one moment we nearly crashed so I had to try again, on the very last lap. I know it’s better to win races calmly, from the front, but lately that hasn’t been the way for us and I have had to fight on every lap."

Lorenzo, who turns 23 on Tuesday, celebrated in hilarious style by leaping into the lake in the middle of the circuit, much to the rapture of the home fans who were already celebrating Spanish wins in the 125cc and Moto2 classes earlier in the day.

"I saw the lake on Thursday and thought it would be funny to jump in and I think the fans liked it, but I didn’t really think about how heavy I’d be with wet leathers and for a minute I thought I wasn’t going to get out!"

Apart from almost drowning, Lorenzo was ecstatic about his win in front of the home crowd.

"This has been an amazing day, I can’t believe I’ve achieved this dream of mine, in front of all the Spanish fans at this magical place."

After two races, Lorenzo now leads the MotoGP Championship with 45 points. Valentino Rossi is four points adrift and sits second in the points.

The road racers now have a three-week break before the French round at Le Mans on 23rd May. Lorenzo may want to practice his swimming in leathers during his time off.